Reunited
by TabbyReynolds
Summary: Captain Hook arrives in Storybrooke and goes to warn Regina about Cora. A one-shot about conflicting emotions and past loves. Set during 2x10.


_I hate to turn up out of the blue, uninvited, but I couldn't stay away, I couldn't fight it. I had hoped you'd see my face and that you'd be reminded that for me, it isn't over._..

The air here was colder than a pirate should ever have to experience. There was constant wind; not like a warm sea breeze though. It was cutting, like a whip against his skin. Captain Hook pulled his leather jacket tighter around himself.

He stood atop a roof overlooking the town with Cora by his side. She made him join her up there to help her spot her daughter, which he had succeeded in doing. Pirates were adept at finding hidden treasure; captains were even better. And Regina certainly was a hidden treasure in this pitiful little town. Even a few moments ago when she had just been walking down the street it was clear that she was no ordinary person. She was the Queen he remembered.

Time had changed her, though. While she still walked with the confidence he saw many years ago, there was something concealed in her eyes. It was so evident to him that he could spot it from as far away as he was. He wondered what it was.

Cora hadn't noticed anything different. She had been too preoccupied with the joy of finding her daughter broken.

_Broken_. That had been the word she used. Hook agreed with that, Regina certainly seemed rather damaged, but he certainly didn't see the point of celebrating that fact. He was more interested in finding out what it was that broke her.

Cora wasn't. She was practically beaming as she hurried a goodbye and rushed back to the Jolly Roger to collect her things before commencing whatever secret plans she had to win her daughter back. Hook didn't join her. He stayed behind, his eyes still following Regina's frame as she grew smaller in the distance.

He knew he would feel conflicted when he finally saw her again after all these years. There had been a time in his life when he actually enjoyed the company of the woman. Or he was starting to at least. Their late night sessions in her bedchamber had been fiery and idyllic, but they came to an end when he returned from Wonderland. He had gone against her by tricking her into thinking he had done the job and killed her mother, not that that was the reason he felt unsettled now. There hadn't been many feelings shared between the two of them in the past and as he was a pirate, Regina should have expected to be double-crossed. Still though, seeing her for the first time since his trip back from Wonderland, he was hit with a wave of something that he couldn't quite place and even after all the time that had gone by, he felt like he owed her something. For that reason, he took off after her.

Hook was quick; he was on the street in no time and ran in the direction Regina had been walking in. Luckily, she appeared to be in no hurry at all so it wasn't too hard for him to catch up to her. He still kept a safe distance, however, not wanting to cause a scene out in the open on the street, even if they were the only ones around. It wasn't until Regina reached her front door and Hook waited back at the gate to her house, that they spoke to one another.

"Are you planning on inviting yourself into my house or did you only follow me to ensure I got home safely?" she asked while facing the door. She slowly turned to look in his direction as he took a few steps towards the house so that her porch light could reveal his face. "Captain Hook?"

Apparently the Queen hadn't known who it was that had been following her. "Aye, hello Regina. And to answer your previous inquiry, if an invitation is being extended I gladly accept it."

She stared at him for a few moments, a million thoughts running through her mind, before finally forcing a small smile and opening the door for them both. Oh, she was angry with him.

"You have a lovely home," he told her as they entered the house. He followed her into a room that reminded him of the galley on his ship. There was a basket of fruit on the table and if his eyesight was as good as he thought it was, he spotted a bottle of rum in one of the cabinets.

"Small talk? Really, Hook?"

"Some people would be impressed with my politeness."

"I'm not," she answered curtly as she poured herself a glass of water. "Let's start with the obvious question, shall we? Why were you following me?"

"Would you believe me if I said I was trying to protect you from the dangers lurking in this mysterious cursed town?" he asked, only to be answered with a piercing glare even though that reason was partially true. "Fine, I followed you because I wanted to talk to you."

"Whatever you have to say to me, I don't want to hear it. Trust me."

"Isn't that where I made my mistake last time?"

She laughed, but it had a wicked trace to it. "_You_ made a mistake trusting _me_?"

He raised his hand to stop whatever was about to happen. "Let's not get into past disputes. I came here to discuss something of much more importance: your mother."

The glass Regina had in her hand shattered due to her tight grip. "My mother?"

Hook was momentarily stunned by the aggressiveness of Regina. She didn't even flinch with the broken glass in her hand. She just held her gaze on Hook. Her eyes looked black, glaring at him with such ferocity that he almost took a cautious step backward.

"My mother," she repeated. "My mother that you were supposed to kill? My mother that you tricked me into believing was dead? My mother that you joined forces with against me?"

He opened his mouth to respond but couldn't until he cleared his throat. He cursed himself for being so caught off guard by her outburst. "Still sharp as a tack I see," he said with a smile.

Regina still wasn't amused. "What in the world do you have to tell me about my mother?"

He raised his arms as if about to reveal a wonderful surprise. "She's in town!"

If Regina had been fuming a few seconds ago, all traces of it were gone in an instant. Her face paled. The black anger in her eyes was replaced with fear.

"Cora…she's…she's here? She's in Storybrooke?"

He walked over to her, his confidence returning. "She is. That'd be a bloody long trip to make by myself."

Regina's head had been down as she stared at the floor thinking but it snapped up quickly when he said that. He suddenly wished he hadn't moved closer to her.

Regina clenched her fists, including her left one that was still stinging from the glass, and she could feel herself shaking with anger. This man, this stupid, foolish pirate, had brought her mother to Storybrooke. An image of Henry flashed in her head and because she had sworn off magic, she did the only thing she could think of to let out her frustration. She slapped Captain Hook across the face. Hard.

"Well, I guess I deserved that," he said a few seconds later as he rubbed his cheek. "Don't I get some credit for coming to warn you?"

"Warn me about the thing that _you_ brought here?"

Hook finally grew serious. She wasn't sure if it was from the slap or if he could sense how terrified she really was. Whatever the reason, when he spoke, it was quiet and somber. "She promised me revenge on Rumplestiltskin, Regina."

"_I _promised you that." She hadn't meant for her voice to sound so desperate, so sad, as if she was still upset that he left her all those years ago, but it did and now the room was filled with silence.

Finally, Hook sighed and looked down, catching sight of her bloodied hand. "You're bleeding."

"What?" she asked distractedly. "Oh, yes. I'll just-"

She was cut off by him grabbing her wrist and sitting down on a stool. She was too tired to fight him on it so she took the seat next to him and watched as he delicately picked the glass out of her hand one by one.

"I'm sorry, love," he said seriously, despite the trivial pet name he identified her with.

"You didn't put the glass in my hand," she told him.

"I brought Cora here."

Regina wanted to say she was mad about that, but truth be told she had been waiting for her mother to show up ever since she sent her away. She turned every corner cautiously, surveyed every passerby, and kept the door to her house locked constantly. And only to find out now that she had been right to be scared all along, Her mother had been trying to get to her all this time. And she finally succeeded, with the help of Captain Hook,

She knew deep down that she couldn't blame the man. She experienced first hand how convincing her mother could be. She also could understand that Hook only wanted his revenge. He didn't care about the residents of Storybrooke, the safety of her son that he had never met, or even the troubled relationship that Regina had with her mother. He wanted to get rid of the person who crushed his love's heart and if Regina could relate to one thing in this world, it was that feeling.

"It's okay," she mumbled.

"My dear, I know you've lost some blood here but I didn't think it was enough to affect your brain."

She smiled despite everything. "I mean it, Hook. I understand. You needed to get here for Rumplestiltskin. I'm still angry with you though."

"Of course you are. I sailed here with the woman you-"

"That's not why I'm mad," she interrupted, suddenly very aware that he had paused working on removing the glass from her hand to talk to her and they were essentially just sitting there holding hands. "I'm mad because…I was willing to give you your revenge thirty years ago. I promised you I would help you if you helped me."

"Regina, your mother had my heart in her hands as she told me that I would lose my memories if I came to Storybrooke with you. I wasn't really concerned with promises."

Regina nodded. "I figured she pulled something like that. I mean, all those years ago, I thought we had…I thought there was some…trust." She wanted to put her head in her hands for sounding so senseless but one of them was still comfortably in Hook's hand and the thought that she had another hand that was free didn't even cross her mind.

"We did," he told her, looking her right in the eyes. "I should have done what you asked of me. I shouldn't have listened to Cora. Look where it's gotten us." He gestured with his hook to his reddened cheek.

She grimaced. "Sorry for slapping you."

He chuckled and then seemed to remember her hand. "Ah, I'm sorry my dear. There's still a piece of glass left in there. It's rather large so forgive me if I-"

And without so much as a warning, he yanked the last piece of glass out of her hand and it hurt so badly she almost shrieked, but instead her other hand shot out and grabbed Hook's leg tightly.

"-hurt you."

He smiled his dazzling smile and for a moment, time went back to when they used to meet in her castle. He would smile like that, and before she knew it they'd be tangled up in her sheets. More often then not when they saw each other in those days they would end up in her bed, but sometimes they would just talk, sometimes even share a laugh. Regina always wondered what would have happened if he hadn't gone off with Cora; if she had brought him to Storybrooke and they had been the only two people in town with their memories.

"You almost made me forget. You always were good at that."

"I almost forgot as well. I should be going. Cora has plans and I'd best not be here warning you about them when she arrives."

Regina nodded and stood up with him. She wasn't sure why she suddenly felt rather sad; just a few minutes ago she had wanted to ring the man's neck. But he had come back into her life rather abruptly, and no matter how infuriating and charming and frustrating he was, she had to admit that it felt nice to have him back. He was familiar. He understood her.

They slowly walked to the door. They were side by side yet remained quiet. Finally they got to the door and Regina reached for the knob, until she was suddenly pulled tightly into Hook's body, his arms quickly wrapping around her and squeezing so tightly she could barely breathe. She didn't mind though. She responded immediately as her arms wrapped around his neck just as strongly. He pulled her up higher so that their height difference didn't affect their embrace.

"Hm," he said with surprised. "I thought I'd have earned another slapping for doing this." His mouth was close to her ear so his voice was barely above a whisper.

"I think I've missed you," she admitted.

"I think I've missed you too."

They stood there for a while in each other's arms. Regina eventually moved her head so that her cheek rested on his chest, breathing in his familiar scent of rum and the sea. All too soon she felt his arms loosen and he released her.

She watched him leave, her eyes lingering on his silhouette for a few extra moments before she slammed the door shut, locked it, and focused her attention on the awful reality that the man from her past had just informed her of.

Cora was in town.

**A/N: So yeah, just a little love shot I was working on in between chapters of Two Broken Pieces (next chapter for that should be up next week!) I got the idea for this after I remembered that Regina was one of the first people Hook saw once he arrived in town. How perfect! Hope you liked it!**


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